Mr. Congeniality

For much of his life, Mark Latham had been living a Johnny Cash song. Born in 1961, the federal Labor leader grew up in a tough neighborhood in Sydney's western suburbs. He was a star pupil at school, but he needed the financial help of friends to finish university. He toiled in obscure local politics longer than most. A decade ago, Latham won the federal seat once held by his mentor former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. If the public knew anything about Latham, it was likely to be for his loose tongue and parliamentary aggro rather than for his indefatigable proselytizing...